Breaking: Boko Haram and Minbar Ansar Deen group to be banned in UK

Membership of two extremist groups will become a criminal offence under planned changes to UK terror laws.

Home Secretary Theresa May wants to outlaw UK-based Minbar Ansar Deen and Nigeria-based Boko Haram.

An order to ban the radical Islamist organisations from operating in the UK will take effect from midnight on Friday if it is approved by Parliament.

Minbar Ansar Deen, also known as Ansar al-Sharia UK, allegedly promotes terrorism by distributing content through its online forum.

It encourages individuals to travel overseas to engage in extremist activity, specifically fighting, the Home Office said.

The Government said banning Boko Haram, which aspires to establish Islamic law in Nigeria, will prevent the group from operating in the UK and give the police powers to tackle any UK-based support for the group.

Decisions to proscribe the organisations are understood to be unrelated to the murder of

soldier Drummer Lee Rigby near Woolwich barracks in south-east London in May.

The penalties for proscription offences can be a maximum of 10 years in prison or a £5,000 fine.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary can proscribe an organisation if it is believed to be concerned in terrorism.

But a high threshold which takes into account the threat the group poses to the UK has to be met before the minister can go ahead.

If approved by Parliament, it will be a criminal offence to belong to or back Minbar Ansar Deen or Boko Haram, as well arrange meetings or wear clothing in support of them.

Other proscribed groups include al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and Islam4UK, which was led by Anjem Choudary before it was banned.